The Red String of Fate
by laurzz95
Summary: AU: Emma has finished her jail sentence in Phoenix and Regina is building her new life with Henry in Storybrook and everyone is happy, but strange things link these two in a stronger way than their shared son.
1. Chapter 1 Red String

Red String

The red string of fate or the red string of marriage is based on a Chinese legend. This myth states that an invisible red string is tied round the ankle or pinkie finger of those who are destined to meet. Some say that this string of fate can be so strong that some events of one person can affect the other. Have you ever felt sad for no reason or found a bruise on your body that you could not explain?, some believe that this is your body responding to something your soulmate has experienced.

In December 2000 Emma Swan sat on the hard bunk of her cell, staring at the little pink plus on the pregnancy test in her trembling hands, a single tear rolled down the young girls face. At only 18 years old and no family and friends to help her, she had no choice but to give up the baby growing inside her. She would carry the baby to full term in this prison cell and have to give them up. She would never get to see their first smile or their first steps, never to hear their first word or take them to school when they were old enough. Emma would never get to see her child again.

20 weeks into finding out she was pregnant, Emma went for her check-up and was able to see her baby for the first time. The warden allowed her to keep the picture of the ultrasound. Which she kept pinned to the wall in her cell.

Emma ran her finger over the small shape of her baby on the wall, " I love you peanut" she whispered to herself as she rested her hand on her ever growing bump and led down before she cried herself to sleep.

As Emma was nearing her due date the warden had her moved to the prison infirmary so she could be closely monitored. She began to feel the contractions in her abdomen, soon they increased in strength and where happening more often so she was moved to the closest hospital in Phoenix where she would finally give birth. By the time she arrived at the hospital she was dilated 6cm and the contractions so much stronger. Baby Swan would soon be here. "Deep breaths Emma" the midwife reminded her as a particularly strong contraction hit her. "Nearly there, 1cm left to go". 20 minutes later Emma was finally 10cm dilated which meant she would soon see her little peanut. "Push Emma" Her chin against her chest Emma pushed with all her might, a small cry escaped her lips. "I can see the head, you're doing well Emma, keep going" She pushed again and again. The baby finally arrived. The midwife held the baby high enough for Emma to see. "Congratulations, it's a boy".

3,000 miles away the Mayor of Storybrook, Maine, aka Regina Mills, curled up in bed clutching her stomach in pain. After a couple hours the pain subsided and she got up sticky and tired and had a shower before calling Dr Whale and telling him what had happened. "Come in for some tests Madam Mayor, we wont know anything until I can examine you." After at least 12 different tests Dr Whale was none the wiser, he suggested that she took the day off and had plenty of rest. "It is probably a hormone imbalance, just have some rest and you'll feel better" he suggested. "I'm the mayor I cant have a day off, hormone imbalance, ha, fool" she muttered to herself. Straightening her black pencil skirt and buttoning her white blouse, Regina lifted her head high and went to work.

Emma led in the hospital bed exhausted, she felt her eyelids droop and succumbed to sleep . She was soon awoken by the cry of a baby. Her baby. The midwife had brought him in for her to meet. "I cant see him" Emma sobbed. "Don't you want to hold him?" the midwife urged. "NO " Emma shouted, making the baby cry harder. She knew if she held him, looked at him, she would never let him go. But she was 18 and homeless, it was no life for a new born. "I don't want to see him, take him away" she said. Turning in the bed so she couldn't see the midwife. Soon Emma was taken back to the prison to carry out the rest of her sentence.

Mean while in Storybrook, Regina mills was looking at adoption agencies when she got a phone call. "Miss mills? I am Jack the social worker from Phoenix Adoptions, I am happy to say that all you have passed all the checks and are happy to say that you are a perfect candidate to be an adoptive parent. Actually we have a week old baby boy who needs a home would you like to come meet him ?" Shocked that it had happened so fast, Regina was speechless. She stayed silent. "Miss Mills?" the social worker asked. "Yeah? Oh yes I would love to" she stammered. "tomorrow 11am? " he suggested. "Perfect".


	2. Chapter 2 Henry

Henry

Regina drove from her manor house to Phoenix and checked herself into a hotel for the night. She scoured the internet for a shop which sold everything a new mother would need. She found one within walking distance from her hotel suite and went for a browse. She bought everything from a car seat to all the nappies and clothes a baby boy would need, as well as bottles, formula and toys. She carried the items back to her hotel and packed them up in her car.

The next morning Regina's heart was pounding, this could be it, she could have a baby within a few hours. She changed into a pair of smart trousers and a regal purple coloured blouse. She checked her watch, it was quarter to 11. "time to leave" to sighed to herself. She arrived at the adoption agency right on time. You can always count on Regina Mills to be on time. "Miss Mills?" Regina looked up at the red headed receptionist and nodded. "Right this way, Jack is expecting you" She followed the bubbly woman to a rather large office off of the main foyer. "He'll be right with you, make yourself comfortable" Left alone Regina looked around the office, at the large bookshelf full of books, there was a large leather sofa by the window which she perched on waiting for the social worker.

"Mills was it? " a rather plump friendly looking man walked through the door of the office. "Regina, please" she answered. "Regina… my co worker will bring the baby in a moment, I just wanted to check you had everything you need if you decide to take the young man home." Regina went through her mental checklist making sure she had bought everything. "Yes, I believe I have everything" the man smiled. "good, now all the paperwork you will need regarding his health and his vaccinations are all in here if you would read through them for me" Regina took the file from him and settled back on the sofa. The bubbly receptionist had returned. "can I get you anything Jack? Tea? Coffee?" she inquired. "Coffee, black please. Regina?" she looked up from the folder. "a bottle of water would be lovely" she answered, she then stood and handed the folder back to Jack. "Any questions about the information in the folder?" he asked. "No, I think I understand everything." she answered just as the receptionist returned with their drinks. "thank you" she took a long drink of the water, her hands shaking a little.

"Are you ready to meet your son? " Jack asked as he opened his office door to a colleague who was holding the baby wrapped in a pale yellow blanket. Regina nodded as she stood. The man passed the bundle to Regina. It was love at first sight. "He's beautiful" she said to no one in particular. She gazed down at the sleeping baby in her arms, a warm feeling spread through her chest, she knew that she would love this baby boy no matter what. "does he have a name?" she asked. "No, we hadn't got to that part yet, so if you want him that would be your choice." She smiled at the boys cherub face "Henry, I want to call him Henry" Jack smiled and filled out a form on the desk. "Regina if you fill in the blanks here and sign at the bottom, little Henry will be all yours." Regina had never signed anything so fast. "lastly I need you to fill this in and we can send off for his birth certificate" Regina filled in the last form and put Henry in his new car seat and left the adoption agency with her new family.

"Off home we go, Henry Daniel Mills."


	3. Chapter 3 It's looking up

It's looking up...

Emma finished her sentence as a model inmate and was finally released in January 2002. She picked up her bug from the impound and went on the hunt for a job. All the places she went to all turned her down, they said they wanted more experience. With Emma's experience in many pubs and little corner shops, she knew that they only said that to cover up that they didn't want a convicted felon working with them. Feeling defeated, Emma went home to the tiny apartment that the employment team at the rehabilitation centre set her up with, and filled in a dozen more applications online. Emma found one job vacancy which caught her eye, an illustration job for a book company in New York. She couldn't move there for it as her probation meant she had to stay in Phoenix for a year and prove she can be a model citizen. Emma thought it was still worth applying, maybe she could work from home. She rang the contact number, but no one answered so she left a message saying that she was interested in the job role and wanted to discuss it with whoever was in charge. Emma stood and stretched before heading to her bedroom for the night.

Emma woke to the shrill ring of her mobile. "Hello?" she answered sleepily. "Is this Emma?" rubbing her eyes Emma sat up. "yeah" she propped her pillow up against the wall and pulled the duvet up to cover her bare chest. "Good, Hello Emma, my name is Johanna, I am the person who posted the job you expressed your interest in. Are you free now to do a quick interview over the phone? " she asked. "Sure." Emma replied. "Brilliant, do you have any previous illustration experience?" Emma thought quickly. "Not professionally but I draw as a hobby" she frowned, she knew this was a long shot. " Ok, if I emailed you the story for a kids book we are working on, are you able to work on a rough idea for 5 or 6 different drawings to go into it. This would be part of your application and you will get paid for them even if we don't use them in this specific book?" Emma smiled. "I can do that but I am stuck in Pheonix at the moment so wont be able to deliver them personally". Johanna mulled it over. " That's fine Emma, you can send me them via email. Do you have any questions for me?" Emma looked down to her lap. "I have a couple. Umm so is this a one time job or would you keep me on to do other things depending on how I do for this trial?" she played with a lose thread on her sheet while she waited for her to reply. " It will be to stay on to do other things depending on how you do. What's your other question?" Emma paused. " It's not really a question, more of a confession… ummm. I have a criminal record. " the line was silent so she continued. "I know its what everyone says but I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time and ended up paying for what my ex had done. I just wanted you to know now before we confirmed anything. I'm sorry if I wasted your time. " Emma felt a lump in her throat, she knew if she didn't get a job soon she'd be in trouble with her probation officer. "Emma.. Take a deep breath sweetheart. I googled you when I heard your message this morning so I know what happened. Well what was published anyway. We don't judge here and I would like to work with you if you would like the opportunity?" Johanna answered. Emma laughed. "definitely" Johanna smiled and brushed her long red hair out of her face. "Brilliant, I will email you the story sometime this afternoon and any information you will need to give to your probation officer. I look forward to seeing your work. Bye Emma" The biggest smile spread across Emmas face, "goodbye Johanna.

Emma grabs her keys and pops to the local art shop for some paper and a set of decent pens that she can use to try to impress Johanna. Once Emma returned home she fired up her laptop and checked her email. She had received on from Johanna. ' _Hello Emma, It was lovely to talk to your earlier. So the book we want you to illustrate is a new edition of little red riding hood. Done many time I know but that's what the big man wants. So can you draw up a minimum of 5 small drawings roughly the size of your hand by next Friday. This is for a childrens book, however we are doing an adult edition at some point for the Grimm brothers version, so if you would like to do one drawing for this as an example of what you can do toward that type of thing to support your trail then you are more than welcome. If you have any questions don't hesitate to contact me. Johanna.'_ Emma read the email a couple of times just to make sure she knew everything and began to jot down some ideas. In the next few days Emma already had two images complete and 4 more planned out. She was enjoying having something to do rather than staring at the wall in her cell or wandering around in the jail yard. She was excited at the idea of having a job she would enjoy. By the end of her deadline Emma had completed 7 drawings for the childrens book and 2 toward the adult edition which were her favourite by far, they were much more detailed and dark, just like the whole theme of the Grimm brothers versions of the classic fairy tales. She fired up her laptop and attached photos of her illustrations to an email. ' _Dear Johanna, Thank you for this opportunity, I have attached photos of the pictures you asked for and have mailed copies to your office, they should arrive tomorrow, hope you like them. Emma_.'

An hour later Emma received an email, 'Nice work Emma, we want to use them in the new edition. You are officially hired. If you would like the job. Johanna.' Emma danced round her living room with glee and celebrated with a nice cold beer and the newest episode of The Walking Dead


	4. Chapter 4 Red Riding Hood

Red Riding Hood

Regina laughed as baby Henry splashed about in the bath. He loved bath time, the more bubbles the better. "Happy Birthday my little Prince." Once her little man was clean, Regina flicked her wrist and a soft cosy towel appeared in her hands. Henry squealed with delight as she wrapped him in his towel and pulled him into a tight hug. His head lulled against her shoulder. His eyes drooping. Regina dried him off, dressed him in his pjs and put him down for his nap while she got ready for Henrys birthday. The doorbell rang and she hurried downstairs to answer the door. "Mal you're here !" A large smile spread across Regina's face as she pulled her best friend into a hug. "Of course, I couldn't miss my little mans first birthday." She handed Regina a massive blue bag containing Henrys presents. "You didn't have too Mal" Mal blushed. "I like spoiling my godson. Where is he?" Mal replied looking around. "Down for his nap…. Fancy helping me set up? " Mal nodded and grabbed the decorations and began hanging the balloons and banners around the large living room of the Mayors house.

An hour later the house was decorated and the food for the party prepared. Mal and Regina sat at the breakfast bar in the kitchen with a cold glass of apple cider. Henry stirred in his cot. "I better get Henry ready" Regina stood to go get him. "Wait I bought him something to wear today" Mal replied and rushed to the large bag of presents she had brought with her. "Here I thought he'd like it" Regina opened the present and found a purple, green and black onesie, once she unfolded it she saw that it was a dragon with spikes and a little tail. "I love it Mal! he will look amazing in this" Regina rushed upstairs to put henry in his outfit. Regina carried henry into the living room to show off his outfit to Mal. "OMG he looks adorable" Mal stretched out her arms towards henry and took him in for a cuddle. Henry put his chubby arms around Mals neck and nuzzles into her neck. Regina checks the clock. "Kathryn should be here soon, you ok with him while I do the last couple things." Mal lifted Henry into the air then kissed his forehead. "yeah, we're good." Mal replied as Regina walked into the kitchen and put the last of the food and Henrys birthday cake on the Dining room table.

The doorbell rang and Regina answered the door. "Kathryn, I'm so glad you came" She pulled Regina in for a hug. "Hello Regina " she replied. "where's Henry?" She asked. "He's in the living room with Mal" Henry had a great afternoon opening presents and playing with Mal and Kathryn. "I swear we could have given him a roll of wrapping paper and he would have been happy" Kathryn said with a giggle, as mal ripped another piece up into smaller pieces, earning the biggest laugh out of Henry while Regina recoded it on her phone. "Definitely" replied Regina. Her eyes watered watching her little prince, she loved him more than life its self. After their ribs had finally stopped aching from laughing with Henry, Regina went into the dining room and lit the candle on Henrys cake and carried it into the Living room. They all joined in singing Happy Birthday to him while he clapped. Regina tried to get Henry to blow out his candle but after failing and just blowing spit all over himself she blew out the candle for him. "Make a wish Henry" Regina whispered to him.

"Would you like some cake Henry? " Regina asked as she cut him a small slice of his dinosaur cake and put it on a small blue plate. Henry clapped and squealed as she put it in front of him before cutting her, Kathryn and Mal a slice each.

Before Regina could put down the knife, Henry smashed his little fist into his cake spraying the four of them in green frosting. Henry giggled before shoving a fistful of cake into his mouth. "Henryyyy" Regina groaned. The women watched as he grinned and flashed his teeth at them with his face covered in frosting. Regina grabbed some napkins and started to clean up Henry.

Soon after, Kathryn left and Mal used her magic to clear away the left overs and took down the decorations. They were just settling down on the sofa to watch a movie before putting Henry down for bed when there was a knock on the door. Regina handed Henry to Mal and went to see who it was. "Snow? What are you doing here?" Regina frowned, she didn't trust Snow even now. "I have a present for Henry, It was in Golds shop and thought he might like it." She handed over a large leather bound book. It read 'Once Upon a Time, Illustrated by Emma Swan' "thank you Snow" Regina replied. "You're welcome" Snow replied before turning and walking back down the mayors drive. Regina closed the door and walked into the living room. "Who was that?" Mal asked, turning to look at Regina. "Snow, she dropped this by for Henry" she put the book in Mals lap and picked Henry up from the floor. "Henry looks tired, want to join for story time?" Regina asked as she stood and balanced Henry on her hip while taking the book from Mal. She nodded and followed Regina to Henrys room. They settled on the small couch opposite his crib and Regina opened up Henrys new book. "Look henry, it has pictures" Regina said pointing to the cute little drawing at the beginning of the book which looked strangely like Henry. "How about Little Red Riding Hood tonight?" Henry smiled and snuggled himself into his mom and Mal ready for his story.

Regina read the story to Henry and soon he was asleep, his dark hair fell forwards covering his eyes as he rested his head on Mals lap. She closed the book and place it on the table next to her and gently lifted Henry to put him in his crib. She tucked him in and put his teddy in with him. Her and Mal left and went back to the living room to watch a film. "Wine?" Regina offered. She poofed a bottle and two large glasses on the table in front of them and poured them both a glass. While they watched the movie Mal noticed something wrong with Regina. She shook it off thinking maybe she was tired but by the end of the film she knew something wasn't right. "Regina? Are you okay?" Mal asked. Regina shook her head and chewed on her lip. She looked confused. "What's wrong?" Regina turned to Mal. "I recognise the name on that book, but I just cant place it" Mal frowned. "Emma Swan? Hmmm" She pulled out her phone and googled the name. "It says that she is 19 and just helped illustrate a childrens book 'Once Upon a Time', she grew up in Portland Oregon, and spent a small time in Phoenix prison for petty theft." She looked up at Regina. "I think know where I recognise the name." She stood and went to her study, grabbed a folder from the shelf and went back to Mal. She flicked through the pages of Henrys adoption papers. "Here it is… Birth Mother: Emma Swan, age 18" Mal took the paper from Regina and read it over. "You think it's the same person?" Regina asked. "Well the age and locations on here fit so it could be, but what are you worried about?, she's obviously too young to have a child." Regina sighed. "You're right, I have nothing to worry about." Regina pushed her worries to the back of her mind and enjoyed the rest of the night with Mal.


	5. Chapter 5 Once Upon A Time

Once Upon A Time

Emma sat at her laptop and re-read Johannas email over and over. ' _Nice work Emma, we want to use them in the new edition. You are officially hired. If you would like the job. Johanna_. "I did it, I really did it." Emma said aloud to herself. She quickly opened up a new email and typed. _Hello Johanna, I am excited to work more with you, what would you like me to do next? Thanks again, Emma._ She pressed send and went to have a shower. When she stepped out of the bathroom she heard the ding of her laptop telling her that she had received a new email. Wrapped in only her towel she hurried over to the laptop and opened up the new email from Johanna. _Emma, I have some great news, we are now expanding the original idea of Red riding hood to make one large book full of all the childhood favourites, I would like you to work on 6-8 small pictures for each of these stories (Snow White, Cinderella, Alice in wonder land, Aladdin and Beauty and the beast) there will be more but I would like these done first while we work on the stories at this end. You have 2 weeks for the first two stories (Snow White and Cinderella) please submit these to me by the first Monday of next month. Also we need a picture to put inside the first pages to encourage readers. Johanna. P.S your first pay check should be in your bank._ Emma opened another tab on her internet browser and logged into her online banking. She had a new notification $5000 transferred from Night tales Publishing. 'Wow that much for 6 drawings' Emma thought to herself. She looked at her small collection of drawing materials. 'guess I'm going shopping today' she went and got dressed in her signature skinny jeans and white tanktop. She threw on her red leather jacket and walked to her bug. She drove to the mall and spent most of the afternoon there and bought a lot of new art supplies and bought herself some illustration books for inspiration. She also went food shopping which filled her tiny fridge.

Emma carried her haul up to her apartment and laid it all out on her table. She was excited to get started on the next project. She pulled her new sketch book and pencils toward her and began sketching out some new ideas, Cinderella in her tattered rags then another of her with her stepsisters and another with her in her signature dress and glass slippers. Emma knew she needed at least six for each story but she wanted to make sure she had the main elements done first.

In the next couple of days fuelled on coffee and sharpie fumes, Emma had finished all of her rough sketches of both stories of Snow white and Cinderella. She had trouble deciding what to put for the opening picture so she would come back to that later. With 3 of her final designs done and finally giving into the cramp in her wrist Emma packed up for the day and took a long, hot bubble bath. She led back letting the water sooth her aching muscles, resting her head on the cool tile wall. She took a sip of the large glass of white wine she held in her hand. She was happy for the first time in so long, she just wished she had someone to share it with. She finished her wine and climbed out of the bath. Wrapped in a huge fluffy towel Emma laid on her bed. It was only 7:30pm but she was knackered. 'Ill just rest my eyes for now' Emma thought.

Within minutes Emma was in a deep sleep, flashes of colour appeared in her dreams, soon these colours formed into shapes. The first shape to appear was young boy around the age of 1 year. His dark brown hair just covering his chestnut eyes, he was wearing the cutest set of dungarees Emma had ever seen with a pale pink t-shirt. He was clutching a book, she couldn't see the title but he looked happy. The second shape was a woman her mahogany hair just touched her shoulders. She was in a black, tightfitting pencil skirt which clung to her ass and a loose fitting red blouse.

her face wasn't clear but she could tell this woman was beautiful. Soon the dream faded into nothing and Emma slept dreamless until morning.

When she woke Emma still had the picture of the young boy clutching the book in his hand in her head. 'That's the perfect starting picture' she thought. She spent the next few hours perfecting the image in her head when it was finally done, she picked it up and pinned it to the wall with the other finished pictures. Over the last few days before the deadline Emma worked through her project. Happy that she was finally doing something she enjoyed and ready to see where this was going to take her.

The last few months flew by and soon Emma had done over 200 different pictures for this project and felt proud that she had completed something and liked what she had done. Emma's laptop dinged. It was an email from Johanna.

 _Well done Emma, the book looks fantastic and I love the picture of the young boy it looks perfect. Have a well earned break and enjoy that pay check, you will also receive royalties from all books sold. Congratulations you have published your first illustration. Ill be in contact. Johanna._


	6. Chapter 6 Growing up

Growing up

13 July 2017

In the next few years nothing out of the ordinary happened to either Emma, Regina or Henry, or so they thought. Emmas dream of the little boy and the brunette occurred most nights only as months passed she notice that the boy in her dreams had aged a little, his cheeky grin growing more and more like hers everyday and he never let go of the book, The woman's face never came into focus but Emma knew she only grew more beautiful every day.

"Does he ever put that book down?" Mal asked Regina amused. "Never" Regina replied pushing a hot coffee towards her friend before handing 4yr old Henry his sippy cup. "Juice" Henry said proudly. "Well done Henry" Regina praised. Originally Henry had been slow when It came to talking but now he had caught up with the other children his age and always understands anything Regina says to him. He just didn't like talking to anyone but his mother and Mal. Henry finished his juice and went back to the book. He opened it up to the front page with the picture of the little boy. He pointed to it. "Henry" he said. "mumma, it's me" Regina looked at the picture then at Henry. "It does look like you, doesn't it." she stated. He laughed. "Henry in a book" he clutched the book to his chest and waddled into the living room out of sight. "We better follow him, he likes drawing on the walls at the moment" Regina said to Mal as she grabbed her coffee and followed her little trouble maker. Henry had climbed onto the couch with his book and was making mumbling noises trying to read the words. Regina stood watching him and reached out a hand to stop Mal from interrupting him, they both watched for a minute before Henry looked up and saw them both in the doorframe. "Henry read" he said. "Would you like some help my little prince?" He nodded as she walked over and pulled him onto her lap. Mal sat in the seat opposite watching them. "What is this word Henry?" Regina asked pointing to a word on the page. "Ooonce, ONCE" he smiled and looked up at Regina. "Well done, next one?" his brow furrowed with concentration. "Up...Upoo..Upon" Regina smiled. "A Time" Henry beamed at his mother. "Well done Henry, do you want to continue?" Regina asked. Henry nodded enthusiastically and read a whole page before he said. "Mumma, me Hungry" She looked at Henry. "It's I am hungry Henry" she returned. "I am Hungry" He replied. "I'll go make dinner, why don't you show Mal your new toy." she encouraged.

Henry excitedly told Mal all about his new dinosaur toy, he pressed a button which made it walk and rawr. "Wow Henry, your own pet dinosaur" Henry laughed. "It not real Auntie Mal" Mal chuckled. "Oops silly me". Meanwhile Regina was in the kitchen putting the lasagne in the oven. She then proceeded to wash up the mess she had made. "Ouch!" Regina had forgotten about the knife she left in the sink and now had a deep gash along her thumb. "Regina!" Mal had walked in after hearing Regina cry out. "what happened?" she asked as she grabbed a towel and wrapped it around Regina's hand. "Forgot the knife was in the sink" Regina replied. "Can you heal it, I'm feeling a bit dizzy" Mal waved her hand over Regina's hand and it was healed. Mal helped her clear up before re-join Henry in the living room who was fast asleep.

Meanwhile Emma had been catching up on the tv she had miss while she was busy working when her hand began to burn, at first it was a tingle similar to pins and needles only it felt warm. She shook her hand hoping it would get rid of it. The pain only got worse , she looked at her hand and a long thin mark had appeared on her hand, what looked like a scar , it had the silvery shine of a scar but her hand was still burning. She went to the kitchen and ran it under some cold water and soon the pain subsided. The ring of her mobile made her forget about it. The screen said Johanna, "Emma, are you home ?" Emma settled onto the couch. "Yeah, why?" Johanna sounded excited. Turn you tv to the New channel, the book's on there!" Emma changed the channel and sure enough there was the book on her screen before her. "I can't believe it" Emma breathed into the phone as her work was displayed on the TV. "I'm so proud of you Emma, When can you come to New York, the team want to meet you?" Emma looked at the date on the calendar. " My probation ends in 2 weeks" Emma could hear Johanna typing away at a computer. "I'll book you a flight for the weekend after, you can stay at my place, I'm not taking no for an answer. I want to meet the woman who made my book complete." Emma Laughed. "Sure, I'll be there. "


	7. Chapter 7 New York

New York

As the end of her probation got nearer and nearer Emma grew excited at meeting her boss in New York . Emma opened up her laptop to have a look at what she could do while she was there and noticed she had another email from Johanna.

 _Emma, would you like to have a tour around New York while you're here as I have the week off then the day before you leave visit the office and meet everyone? Let me know so I can plan something. Johanna._ Emma sent off a quick reply. _'That sounds perfect, I'm looking forward to it. Emma.'_ With two days left before her flight Emma had begun organising what things she needed to take and realised she didn't have a camera. She browsed online and found exactly what she was looking for. She left her apartment and walked to the local electronics shop. Half hour later she walked out with her brand new camera and everything she needed to do what she wanted while she was away.

The day of the flight Emma woke at 4am too excited to sleep, so she took advantage of the extra time and had a long hot shower before changing into her jeans and tank top. She made sure she had everything she needed and put everything by the door. Once everything was ready Emma headed to her car and set off for her flight. She was soon through customs and security and finally boarding the plane. She sent Johanna a quick text. _Just got on the plane see you in a few hours. E_. before shutting off her phone and getting comfy in her seat.

Emma slept through most of the flight but woke just as the attendant announced that they would be descending into New York. The plane touched down on the runway and the butterflies in Emma's stomach only grew. After grabbing her small case from the luggage carousel and headed for the arrivals gate. A short cheerful looking redhead held a sign that said Swan, she was on her tiptoes looking over the head of the arrivals for Emma. Emma smiled and headed toward who she assumed to be Johanna. "Emma?! Is that you?" Johanna pulled Emma into a hug. "My god you're gorgeous" Emma blushed. "uhh thanks, you're not so bad yourself" Emma winked. She found that talking to Johanna had only become easier when face to face.

Emma followed her to her shiny red MG Midget she whistled. "nice" Emma looked at the car fondly. "How much did she cost you?" Emma asked curiously. "She?" Johanna raised her eyebrows. "Yeah a car as beautiful as this has to be a girl and everyone has a name for their car" Emma stated. Johanna giggled. "Jasmin" they put Emmas case in the boot and climbed into the car. "I thought we would just hang at mine for tonight then go sight seeing tomorrow" she suggested to Emma. "Sounds good" Johanna pulled into a car park behind what looked like a museum. Emma followed Johanna to a concealed entrance at the back of the building and into a small but clean lift with they took to the top of the building. The shiny lift doors opened to reveal a small foyer with another door leading to the rest of the apartment. They walked into Johannas living room. Emma gasped as she saw the view out of her large window which looked out upon the harbour and the statue of lady liberty. "no sight seeing today huh" Emma smirked. "what a view!" she turned to Johanna in awe. She laughed at the look on Emma's face and handed her a glass of wine.

Emma settled into a sofa nearest the window not wanting to look away. Soon the blue sky turned purple, pink and orange as the sun began to set. Johanna sat down next to Emma startling her. She hadn't realised she had spaced out and was no longer listening to Johanna. She handed her a large parcel wrapped in sky blue paper. "This is for you" Emma slowly took the package from Johanna her brows furrowed. "You didn't have to" Emma began to tear the paper and saw the cover of her book poking through. Johanna smiled as she opened the book to reveal the young buy she had draw clutching the same book she now held in her hands. "Thank you" she whispered as she thumbed through looking at her artwork accompanying the stories she had read as a child. "It seemed a fitting gift". The two women chatted for till almost midnight before showing Emma to the guest room.

Emma settled into the mattress and cuddled up to her pillow, she was asleep in minutes tired from the day of travelling.


	8. Chapter 8 The Dream

The Dream

Regina tossed and turned that night. She screamed and sat up. She glanced around the room quickly checking where she was and was about to run to Henrys room when she remembered he was staying at Mals. She slumped back down onto the bed. "what the hell was that?" Regina thought to herself. All she could remember was a flash of blonde and her being thrown out of the way of something, her heart still pounding she flicked on the lamp next to her queen sized bed and threw on her silk robe, before exiting the room and descending the stairs to the kitchen. A few minutes later she stood at the window with a warm mug of tea in her hands, watching her apple tree sway in the wind. She rinsed her cup in the sink and padded back upstairs her now her nerves had calmed she may be able to get back to sleep. Regina lay awake in her bed staring at the ceiling thinking about her dream, the more she thought about it the more she remembered, she had been in the garden picking apples to make apple pie, someone was supposed to be coming for tea to meet Henry. When suddenly the sky had turned black and wind howled, she turned toward the street toward the source of the wind, then blank. And suddenly she was against the house held down by a small but strong young woman. But that was when she had woke up, she hadn't seen the woman's face. Soon Regina's eyes felt heavy and she pushed her dream out of her mind and fell asleep.

Meanwhile in New York Emma had experienced the same dream, it was the same woman from her others, the beautiful brunette, she had seen her be knocked over by something then she saw the blood, Emma had launched herself at the woman as a branch that had been torn of the nearby tree flew towards her. Shielding her with her body and pinning her to the ground. Emma should have been scared or at least worried that this woman had been injured but all she could focus on was the bright red lipstick that adorned the woman's shapely lips and the small scar on her top lip. Emma woke and glanced at the clock, it was 7 am, she pulled on her pj bottoms over her pants and walked toward the living room. Johanna was at the counter in the kitchen with a fresh batch of coffee, she grabbed another mug and poured Emma a cup. " You sleep okay?" Emma smiled at her and nodded. " Yes thanks, so what's the plans for today?" Johanna motioned to the couch and Emma joined her. "Well I may have lived her for a while now but I realised I never actually explored the city as a tourist, so I thought for today at least we could just explore, we leave here and go whichever direction you like and get ourselves lost in the city, then we'll get an Uber back later" Emma took a sip of her coffee, embracing the warmth that coursed down her throat. "Sounds perfect".

An hour later when they were both ready Emma and Johanna went out and enjoyed getting lost in the vast city, they explored the museums and sampled cakes from many different bakery's that they had encountered. Emma had insisted that Johanna join in on the photos she took around the city, encouraging her to pose with the statue of Liberty. At 7pm the two ladies were exhausted but happy, they headed back to the apartment and had takeout while going through the thousands of photos they had taken. The rest of the week followed suit with the women getting to know each other and the city, Emma had had a blast and thought it was nice that she finally had a good friend.

It was the last day Emma was due in New York when Johanna had taken her to the office to meet everyone, it was a small but successful office and everyone seemed friendly. Johanna offered Emma an office if she wanted it or she could continue to work from home, as much as Emma loved her time in New York, she wasn't ready to be stuck in an office so she politely declined. Johanna drove them back to the apartment and they relaxed in front of the tv, not really listening to it. But just enjoying each others company. Johanna finally broke the silence. "Emma? Can I ask you a personal question?" Johanna turned to face Emma, curiosity and shyness in her eyes. "sure" Emma put down her phone and faced Johanna. "Did you give up a baby for adoption about 4 years ago" Emma tensed up, drawing her knees up to her chest. She swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat and nodded. "why?" she forced out. "I received an email this morning, asking about you." Emma furrowed her brow. "what did it say?" Johanna grabbed her phone and scrolled through to the message. " uhh, ah here it is. _Dear J. Moore, I am Regina mills, My 4 year old son loves your book 'Once Upon a Time'. He literally never puts it down. I saw that your illustrator was Emma Swan, and I was wondering if you could put me into contact with her. I believe that she may be the birth mother of my little Henry. I know it was a closed adoption, but if she would like to meet him then I would be happy for her to reach out. Thank you, Regina Mills_." A tear rolled down Emma's cheek, "She wants me to meet him, I never thought I would have that chance" Johanna passed Emma the phone and she re-read the message. "Is it okay if I reply? " Johanna smiled. "Of course" Emma thought for a moment then typed out. " _Hello Miss Mills, this is Emma here, I was surprised when Johanna said she had heard from you. I never thought I'd get the chance to meet him again. I would love to meet you both. You can contact me on . Emma_." she handed the phone back to Johanna. "you okay?" she asked Emma. "Yeah, im good, I wasn't expecting to ever see him again" Emma recounted what had happen while she was at the prison. They talked late into the night and finally fell asleep together on the couch.


	9. Chapter 9 Arrival

Arrival

Emma woke to the shrill ring of her phone, "hello? " she answered groggily. "Sorry Emma I had to get to the office, just wanted to let you know that I had an email a few mins ago from Regina, she will contact you in a bit and I'm afraid your flights been cancelled but I have managed to reschedule it for 8pm tonight so I can take you to the airport later on." Emma glanced at the time it was 10am she had plenty of time. "Okay, thanks Johanna".

"No problem Emma, see you later". Emma checked her email and saw an unread message from R. Mills. "Hello, Miss Swan, I was happy to hear from you, I live in Storybrook Maine, are you available to come here sometime soon? Henry is eager to meet the woman who drew the "pretty pictures" in his book. Thank you, Regina Mills" Emma laughed, she wasn't sure who was more eager, her or the kid. "Hey, Regina, Please call me Emma, Miss Swan is too formal. Well, I work from home so I am available at any time and I don't have any projects going on at the moment. So whenever is best for you, Emma" over the next couple hours after she had showered and changed into her comfiest jeans and favorite hoodie, Emma and Regina hashed out their plans to meet. Soon Johanna had returned ready to take Emma to the airport. They talked about Regina and the plans for Emma on their way there. "goodbye Emma, let me know when you land" they hugged and Emma rushed to the terminal and boarded the plane.

Back in Storybrook Regina had just cleaned up Henry from his rather messy breakfast. Truthfully Henry probably didn't understand who it was visiting in a few days but she was excited enough for the both of them, although she was nervous about meeting the young woman who was the reason for her little prince. She rested Henry on her hip and carried him and his book, up the stairs toward the guest bedroom, so she could make sure that Emma had everything she needed. She put Henry on the bed and gave him the book, while she scanned the room to make sure everything was perfect. She put clean towels on the chair under the window and checked that the curtains were fastened correctly. Soon she was happy and took Henry to the nursery to get him ready. She dressed him in his little blue jeans and dinosaur t-shirt. "You ready to go to the park Henry?" Henry clapped. They headed back down stairs, Regina grabbed her keys and her bag and went outside henry waddling beside her. Life carried on as normal for the next couple of days, but as that Friday drew nearer both women were a bundle of nerves.

Friday had arrived. Regina drove to Mals with Henry in his car seat, arriving early as always. She let herself in with the key under the mat and carried Henry into the living room just as Mal entered from the kitchen. " I thought id heard you come in" Regina set the sleeping Henry down on the couch, he nestled into the soft pillows and continued to snore lightly. " You sure you're alright to have him?" Regina asked while she watched her boy sleep. "of course, you need to know about this woman before he meets her, you don't want him to get attached if she just going to leave again." Regina frowned "Mal." she warned. "I'm just saying Regina, she basically threw him away, what makes you think she wont do it again?" She looked up at Mal, "I just know, and I've told you before how I feel about this, if she wants to be in his life I am not going to stop her. I want her in his life, I want to know about his birth family". Mal put her hands up in defeat. "Fine, just be careful Regina." after checking Henry had everything he needed, she hugged Mal and headed back out to her car and drove home.

Meanwhile, Emma was cruising down the country road that led to Storybrook. In all honesty, she had thought that the town had been made up. She stopped at the town line staring in disbelief at the sign that read "Welcome to Storybrook". Emma sighed. " lets do this" she thought to her self and she carried on into town. She pulled up outside the manor and saw a brunette in a tight pencil skirt and white blouse picking dark red apples from a tree in the garden. Emma sat and watched for a moment, when suddenly the sky turned black and the wind began to blow. Emma had felt it before she saw that the brunette was on the floor clutching at her head, Emma touched her head where she had felt a twinge of pain. It was forgotten a moment later when she had seen the blood on the woman's hand. Emma ran from the car towards her. As she got a few feet away a branch had been pulled from the tree beside her she ducked as it whooshed past her and dropped to the floor, another hurtled towards the woman on the floor but Emma got there first, she pushed her out of the way pinning her to the floor. The second branch caught her on the side of her head. She saw a look of horror on the other woman's face and blacked out.


End file.
